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DEBBIE HECHT
<br />(At this time Debbie Hecht came forward to address members of the Charter Commission.)
<br />MS. HECHT: Aloha Commissioners. My name is Debbie Hecht. I worked with Sue
<br />Dursin and Marian Wilkins for a year and a half on initiative and referendum; that was
<br />approved by voters in 2008. The amendment you have before you, CA -16, uses that
<br />language and adapts it to amending the Charter, so we all ask you to pass that.
<br />On CA -15, the 2% land fund, I woke up this morning thinking about the Hamakua lands,
<br />and the sale of those lands by the County. Then I wondered, how are we to prevent any
<br />of the property purchased by the 2% land fund from being sold, traded, transferred, or
<br />whatever. So, I researched it this morning, and in other places in the Country they
<br />include a clause that runs with the land that says something to the effect that, "This land
<br />was purchased with public funds and shall be held in public trust for the use by all the
<br />people of Hawaii county. It shall never be sold, traded, transferred, or mortgaged." I
<br />think that is real important to include with these lands because it is our tax money that is
<br />buying it. I think it's also really important to include in the legislation, in the Charter
<br />amendment, that the highest and best uses for matching funds. Also, the use of this
<br />money, like the land fund versus police and fire; this is not an either /or proposition. At
<br />hearings to suspend the 2% fund last year, at the last reading, union people showed up in
<br />tears saying take the 2 %, not our jobs. There are plenty of ways to solve the budget
<br />crisis, and 2 million dollars here is not going to make a huge difference. The County's
<br />major job is to protect citizens' health and welfare, and Cory Harden is right; open space
<br />doesn't require expensive services like development.
<br />We know the people voted one more time for the 2 %, and I'm very worried that they are
<br />going to be very confused about 1 %, and then we can have the ordinance up to 2 %. I'm
<br />worried it wouldn't pass; and I'm also worried if it doesn't pass, the administration will
<br />turn around and say, "See, they never wanted it, they don't care about open space." I
<br />have been hearing things from people on the street like, "1 %, that's only 2 million, what
<br />are we going to buy with that ?" "That won't buy anything, why vote for that ?" "How
<br />come they no listen ?" "Why should I vote, they don't listen ?" Then, the thing that
<br />thoroughly depressed me was one of my kids on the Kealakehe tennis team asked me
<br />what I did for work; I said that for the last four years I have been working on setting aside
<br />2% of property taxes to purchase open space. We asked the County to approve it through
<br />the Council twice, and they said, "No." We collected 10,000 signatures and over 6,000
<br />of them were invalidated. We got it on the ballot, and then they deleted the purpose
<br />clause. Then we got five seats to say they will reinstate the purpose clause if those
<br />people were elected, and we knew we were good to go. And I'm telling this to a teenage
<br />girl, no less, and I said the 63% of the people voted for it, and then the Council suspended
<br />it for two years.
<br />CHR. HAITSUKA: Ms. Hecht, your time is up.
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